The present invention relates to the suspension of the human body in an inverted position and, in particular, to a device into which the feet of the user may be comfortably secured for supporting the human body in an inverted position.
Inclined and inverted suspension of the human body is well known and has been used to treat a variety of physical ailments. Inclined or inverted suspension has been found to relax muscle tension, relieve stress upon bones and muscles, improve circulation of the blood in parts of the body, and reduce or moderate nervous disorders. Physicians and chiropractors employ patient inversion, as well as traction, for the treatment of a number of back problems. Inversion therapy is also employed to develop amd strengthen certain muscles in the body, as by exercising.
A number of machines have been developed for tilting or rotating a patient about a horizontal axis from a normal or upright body position into an inclined or inverted position while maintaining the patient secured to the machine. This may be achieved by holding the patient's thighs, calves, legs, ankles, heels, insteps or shoulders. Examples of such machines are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,085,486; 1,693,810; 2,934,063, 3,081,085; 3,152,802; 3,286,708; 3,380,447; 3,568,669; 3,589,358; 3,707,285; 4,114,613; as well as in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,662.
Certain of the prior art machines possess a number of serious disadvantages. Clamping the patient around the leg and above the ankle as by stocks, straps or leg cuffs, even though padded, causes trauma to the patient. To reduce this problem, certain machines have been designed to provide padded clamps fitted behind the ankle and in front of the foot at the instep area. Other machines provide a heel brace with a formed member placed over the top of the foot to retain the foot of the patient within a defined area. The more successful of the prior art machines secure the patient by providing padded ankle and instep cuffs for each foot, designed to fit, if desired, above the shoe worn by the patient in order to minimize and reduce trauma in the leg, ankle, instep and heel areas of the foot. One such version is shown in my pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 251,484, filed Apr. 6, 1981, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,731.